2014 goals | intentional

I have a few goals for this brand new year, but instead of listing them out and moving on, I am going to spend a post talking about each one. I hope that this will allow you to fully know why this is a goal of mine and able you to encourage me throughout the year...and also I hope that by talking about each one a lot I will actually DO THEM. I plan on revisiting each once a quarter to check up on my progress. 

I am choosing to post this one first because I hope it's the one that I truly knock out of the park. It's something that has been weighing on me for a while now, so I really have no excuse. 

I have been blessed with some of the most amazing friends out there. So maybe I am biased. In high school and college it was SO easy to constantly be together, be there for each other, run to a shoulder to cry on, etc. But now? Now it's much easier to be a lazy friend. 

I originally told this goal to my friend Haylie and her boyfriend Drew and he responded with "as opposed to an accidental one?" HA. So to clarify, intentional as opposed to a lazy friend. 

I, sad to say, have become a lazy friend. 2014 will be the end of that. 

I realized this would be my goal at my best friend's rehearsal dinner. It's not an exaggeration when I tell you that every single speech mentioned something about Lyndsay being an amazing friend - a friend they could count on to ALWAYS keep in touch. Lyndsay and I have our weekly phone calls (she lives in Atlanta with her husband now), but that is always because SHE makes the point to call me. Yes, I want to catch up and talk, but I know that she will at some point so I just let her. HELLO - LAZY. 

It doesn't take a genius to know that being a lazy friend can make you very easily become a bad friend. I can't tell you how many times after her wedding I thought to myself that I was being a bad friend. How hard is it to pick up the phone or send an encouraging letter/email/text to a friend? It's not hard AT ALL...but yet I was not doing any of those things. 

I should also mention that somehow over the years, I have become someone who hates to talk on the phone. So much so that I've been told by some (ok, I've been told by my little sister) that I seem uninterested at times. I truly think this boils down to being PRESENT. Yes, I may be talking on the phone or even hanging out in person, but am I truly 100% present? Most times I highly doubt it...I have 798359 things on my mind and I tend to think about them while talking to friends. That is not fair and I need to work on being present. 

Lightbulb! It is so much easier to pick up the phone and have a 30 minute conversation than to spend the entire night texting. Not to mention that my husband gets preeettttyyyy mad when I spend the entire night on my phone. Rightfully so!

Like I said earlier, I have GREAT friends. So in 2014 I want to make sure they know that...and then hopefully they will refer to me as a great friend as well. No more taking friendships for granted, no more being lazy and waiting for them to call/text. I even kicked it off today by asking Alexa if we could have a phone date soon as opposed to our many texts/gchats. Watch out, world!!

Also Ashley may get tired of me after this year. Sorry in advance, sweet friend! Kick me out of Bay City any time I become too much.